§ 8-4. Board of Rules and Appeals.
(a)
General. The Board of Rules and Appeals is created as the construction regulation board entrusted with overseeing the uniform enforcement of the Building Code and maintaining the proper standard of construction throughout Miami-Dade County. The Board shall have exclusive jurisdiction in both the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County with respect to its powers, duties and functions.
(b)
Membership. Membership of the Board shall be as follows:
(1)
The Board shall contain 19 members, representing the following disciplines: 2 architects, 2 general contractors, each of whom shall be experienced in residential and commercial construction respectively, 1 roofing contractor, 1 structural engineer, 1 mechanical engineer, 1 electrical engineer, 1 mechanical master or mechanical contractor, 2 representatives of the fire services, 1 electrical master or electrical contractor, 1 plumbing master or plumbing contractor, and 6 non-professional persons. Non-professional persons shall include one representative of the disabled community, one representative of the South Florida Building Trades Council, two persons nominated by the Miami-Dade County League of Cities, Inc., one developer and one representative of a homeowner association. The representative of the homeowner association shall be qualified by training or experience to pass on matters pertaining to construction and shall not be related directly or indirectly to the construction industry. With the exception of the representatives of the fire services and the elected officials of a municipality nominated by the Miami-Dade County League of Cities, Inc., no member of the Board shall be an officer, agent or employee of the County or any municipality governed by this Code. All members of the Board except the nominee of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities, Inc., shall have been active in their respective profession, trade, or occupation for not less than 10 years.
(2)
All members shall be residents of, and have their principal business within Miami-Dade County. The membership of the Board should be representative of the community at large and should reflect the racial, gender, and ethnic make-up of the community.
(3)
The members who are architects or engineers shall be qualified by being currently registered in the State of Florida and having practiced as architects or engineers within Miami-Dade County for not less than 10 years immediately preceding their appointment.
(4)
The members who are general contractors shall be qualified by having a current certificate and having been certified by the State of Florida or by Miami-Dade County as general contractors for not less than 10 years immediately preceding their appointment. The member who is a roofing contractor shall be qualified by having a current certificate and having been certified by the State of Florida or by Miami-Dade County as a roofing contractor for not less than 10 years immediately preceding his or her appointment.
(5)
The members who represent the Fire Service shall be State of Florida currently certified Fire Fighters and shall be qualified by knowledge and expertise in the area of life-safety including but not limited to the rules and regulations of the State Fire Marshall, NFPA 101, the means of egress requirements of the Florida Building Code, and other fire safety codes.
(6)
The member nominated by the Miami-Dade County League of Cities, Inc. shall be an elected official of a municipality organized and existing under the laws of the State of Florida.
(7)
The members who are masters shall be qualified by being active in their trade for a period not less than 10 years and having a current certificate as master or contractor issued by Miami-Dade County or by the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board.
(c)
Appointment.
(1)
The members of the Board of Rules and Appeals shall be nominated and appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, each to select one (1) member to occupy positions in the Board, with the remaining six (6) members to be nominated and appointed by the Board of County Commissioners as a whole. The Board of County Commissioners may also remove members of the Board.
(2)
Board members shall be appointed for a term of 3 years except that to fill a vacancy or to provide continuity of the Board in general, such appointments may be for a term of less than 3 years. No Board member shall serve for more than three full consecutive three-year terms. The Chairman of the Board of Rules and Appeals shall not serve for more than three one-year terms.
(3)
A vacancy in the membership of the Board, occurring during a term, shall be filled by appointment of an individual representing the same trade, profession or occupation as the vacating member, who shall also meet the requirements for appointment to the position. Such interim appointment shall be for the remainder of the term.
(4)
Members shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenses in the performance of their official duties upon approval of the Board of County Commissioners.
(d)
Powers and Duties of the Board.
(1)
The Board of Rules and Appeals shall be the board of appeals for decisions of building officials throughout the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade County. The Board shall hear all appeals from the decisions of the Building Official wherein such decision is on matters regulated by the Building Code from any person aggrieved thereby. Application for appeal shall be in writing and addressed to the Secretary of the Board. The Board shall have the power to affirm, modify or reverse the decision of the Building Official wherein such decision is on matters regulated by the Building Official.
(2)
The Board shall pass on all matters pertaining to the Building Code and referred to the Board by the Secretary to the Board or any Building Official for interpretation or clarification. The Board of Rules and Appeals may interpret the provisions of the Building Code to cover a special case if it appears that the provisions do not definitely cover the point raised, or that the intent of the provision is not clear, or that ambiguity exists in the wording; but it shall have no authority to grant variances where the Building Code is clear and specific.
(3)
The Board of Rules and Appeals, upon direction of the Board of County Commissioners, or upon its own initiative, shall conduct investigation into the enforcement of the Building Code, and shall have the power to suspend or revoke any permits issued thereunder and reinstate and/or administratively close suspended permits after a hearing at which interested persons may appear and be heard and evidence indicates that the best interests of the public are served by such action.
(4)
The Board of Rules and Appeals shall be the local construction regulation board authorized and entitled to deny, suspend, revoke or condition the authority of contractors certified or registered to obtain permits throughout the incorporated and unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, all in accordance with the provisions of Section 489.113(4)(b) of the Florida Statutes. The Chairman of the Board shall appoint a panel of at least three (3) Board members to serve as a probable cause panel in connection with those proceedings. The probable cause panel shall conduct a hearing pursuant to notice for the purpose of determining whether the report or complaint of the Secretary to the Board establishes that probable cause exists to support the requisite elements for suspension or revocation of permitting privileges as set forth in this section. If the probable cause panel finds no such cause, the case shall be dismissed without further action of the Board. If the probable cause panel finds cause, it shall instruct the secretary to notify the contractor to appear before the Board not sooner than twenty (20) days from the date of service of the letter to show cause why their permitting privileges should not be suspended or revoked.
(5)
The Board of Rules and Appeals may recommend to the elected officials any desired amendments or revisions to the Building Code.
(6)
The Board shall have the duty to accept, review and approve or disapprove applications for certification and recertification as a condition of employment or continued employment by any inspection authority regulated by this Code in accordance with Article II of this Chapter. The Board shall also have the authority to suspend or revoke the certification of enforcement personnel for failure to meet the minimum qualifications set forth in Article II below.
(7)
When it is deemed necessary by the Board, it may request experienced and technical advice on any specific subject or subjects from any qualified person or persons, and such request may be for personal appearance at a specific Board meeting or for written analysis of the specific problem. The Board may establish panels of industry, either standing or temporary, for technical analysis of specific subjects.
(8)
The Board shall, upon application from any person aggrieved hereby, hear appeals of the decisions of its Product Review Committee. The Board shall have the power to affirm those decisions and by two third's ( 2/3 ) vote of the Board's members to modify or reverse the decisions of its Product Review Committee.
(9)
The Board shall be the countywide review board established in the Florida Building Code to review amendments to the Florida Building Code for a determination of such amendment's compliance with the provisions of law. The Board shall, upon petition by any substantially affected party, conduct a hearing to determine whether the amendment complies with the provisions of the Florida Building Code.
(10)
The Board of Rules and Appeals shall review, approve, reject or condition the use of construction products, materials, and assemblies as permitted by law, all in accordance with the administrative order governing product approval to be approved by this Board. The Board of Rules and Appeals may delegate, by rule, its product approval function to a committee of the Board, to be established in accordance with this Section. The Committee shall consist of not fewer than seven (7) members of the Board, one of whom shall be a non-professional person. A minimum of five (5) members of the Committee, including the non-professional person, shall constitute a quorum for product approval decisions if so authorized by the Board.
(11)
From the effective date of this Code, the authority of the Board of Rules and Appeals is retained by the Board of County Commissioners. By exception, the authority conferred upon the Board of Rules and Appeals by Section 8-4(d)(9) relating to challenges of amendments effected by the Board of County Commissioners, shall be exercised solely by the Board of Rules and Appeals.
(e)
Conduct of Board Meetings and Hearings.
(1)
Meetings of the Board of Rules and Appeals shall be held at the call of the Chairperson and not less frequently than once per quarter. Notice of hearing shall be provided to parties with an interest in the matter at issue.
(2)
The Board shall elect a chairperson and vice chairperson and such other officers as may be necessary from among its members. Terms of officers so elected by the Board shall be for one (1) year. A detailed record of all proceedings shall be kept on file in the office of the Secretary to the Board.
(3)
The Board may establish rules and regulations for its own procedure. For the conduct of its meetings the Board shall use Robert's Rules of Order or Mason's Rules of Order.
(4)
All hearings shall be open to the public, and any given person whose interest may be affected by the matter on appeal shall be given an opportunity to be heard.
(5)
The hearing shall be informal and need not be conducted according to technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. Any relevant evidence shall be admitted if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rules that might make improper the admission of such evidence over objection in civil actions.
(6)
Witnesses may be sworn and subpoenaed by the Board in a like manner as they are by the court or courts in Miami-Dade County.
(7)
Hearsay evidence may be used for the purpose of supplementing or explaining any direct evidence but shall not be sufficient in itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in civil actions.
(8)
The rules of privilege shall be effective to the same extent that they are now, or hereafter, may be, recognized in civil actions. Irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.
(9)
A simple majority of the appointed members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. Decisions of the board shall be made by the vote of a majority of members present who constitute a quorum. The Board shall reach decisions without unreasonable or unnecessary delay, but in no event shall a decision be made later than 120 days following the initial hearing on the matter unless a report indicating the reason for an additional delay is provided to the Board of County Commissioners.
(10)
Written notice of Board decisions shall be signed by the Secretary and shall be filed with the Secretary and furnished to the appellant within ten days of the Board's action and to other persons appearing before the Board upon request.
(11)
All affected parties shall take immediate action in accordance with decisions of the Board.
(f)
Duties of Legal Counsel. It shall be the duty of the attorney for the Authority having jurisdiction, when so requested, to appear at all hearings before the Board of Rules and Appeals and to represent and advise the Board.
(g)
Review of Board Decisions. Appeals of decisions of the Board within the review jurisdiction of the Florida Building Commission shall be to the Florida Building Commission in the manner prescribed by law. Review of other decisions of the Board shall be to the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida, as provided in the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure for judicial review of administrative action.
(Ord. No. 01-112, § 1, 7-10-01; Ord. No. 01-176, § 1, 10-23-01; Ord. No. 05-120, § 1, 6-7-05; Ord. No. 06-19, § 1, 2-7-06; Ord. No. 07-147, § 1, 10-2-07)